Politicians don’t really deserve deference

So Hank Williams Jr. did the unthinkable. He bluntly spoke his mind while being interviewed on a television program, and has since lost a job he’s had for 20 years.
Good ol’ Hank made an analogy about describing a round of golf between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner last summer as “Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu”…who just happens to be Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The cherry on his crap sundae was his vitriolic soapbox rant calling Obama and Vice President Joe Biden “the enemy.” Now why do people think Fox News tends to incite people into making horrifically inappropriate and divisive comments?
But who’s Hank Williams Jr. you ask? And why should we care? (We shouldn’t.) For that info, let’s back up a tad.
Hank Williams Jr. is a country/southern rock/“outlaw” southern musician. His song titled “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” had been used by Monday night football since 1989 to give it that down-home, hillbilly feel that apparently really resonates with professional football fans.
The annoying catchphrase, “Are You Ready for Some Football?” has been bastardized and co-opted by too many groups and dullards to even begin to discuss.
But let’s look at this fake debacle with a bit of rationality and reason.
First, the fact that he made this comment on the Fox Morning Show makes me think that he felt like he was in his element and only being watched by geriatrics who’d been up since their 4 a.m. whiz. He made a couple silly, off-the-cuff remarks because he knows very well that’s why people have him on Fox News. You make an uninformed, blanketed reactionist statement, and it gets pushed along the 24-hour blah-gosphere, selling records and pushing ratings for those pukes at Fox.
But here’s where I do that whole flip flopping thing: Since when does ESPN give two flying pucks about political rhetoric or something that a hayseed musician said on a completely different network?
Granted he compared the president to Hitler, but I know I’ve used the term Hitler on numerous occasions. I think I’ve even written about it right here. Immature and lazy, yes, but its fairly common and making a dumb analogy about Hitler doesn’t have quite the same sting that it did almost 70 years ago.
When his Jack Daniel’s-inspired morning dialogue had ended, Hank realized that he’d stepped in a huge pile of oops, and he quickly posted an apology-without-apologizing, saying that he knew the comment was extreme but it was simply to illustrate a point. Which, I agree with.
He made a dumb comparison. He didn’t say that Obama orchestrated the Holocaust and was directly responsible for the murder of 11 to 14 million people. The fact that those two d-bags were golfing instead of working just proves the gigantic disconnect between people who have real jobs and politicians.
Yep, I called the president and the speaker of the house d-bags. And I’m not apologizing.
Granted, ESPN was well within their right to stop using that (dumb) song and not associate with Hank Williams. What I’m guessing happened was they were looking to find something less late ‘80s and smelling of old garbage and whiskey, and Mr. Williams Jr. ran his mouth at just the wrong time. Problem solved.
In conclusion, a celebrity said something stupid, made a contrite apology, and all is well with the world. ESPN and hordes of liberal twits got their feelings hurt by a pointless comment, said celebrity is “fired,” ouchy feelings assuaged, and the hippies douse themselves in patchouli in celebration.
P.S. No one should really care about this. It’s a non-story. With all that’s going on in the world, this shouldn’t captivate us like it does. Have we really gotten this bored and apathetic?
And yet, here I am, throwing six hundred words at it. Hey, who knows, maybe Obama will invite Hank Williams Jr to the White House for a beer. Which makes for another boorish high gloss story.
And I guarantee I’d write about that too.